Annie maria heath



(No Model.)

A-.. M. HEATH. BUTTONHOLE CASING.

N0. 604,470. Patented May 24,1898.

INVENTOR O wmi/ MM H4412;

ATTORNEYS UNITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

ANNIE MARIA HEATH, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

BUTTONHOLE-CASIING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 604,470, dated May 24;,1898.

Application filed September 17, 1896. Renewed April 23, 1897- $erial No.678,668. (No modeLl To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANNIE MARIA HEATH, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain,residing at let Oolville Mansions, Bayswater, London,

England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theConstruction of Buttonholes, of which the following is a specification.7

This invention relates to improvements in 10 the construction ofbuttonholes and studholes, and especially those used in wearingapparel;and it consists of the construction hereinafter pointed out. Asordinarily'made in wearing-apparel buttonholes and studholes areprovided with a row of stitching around the edge to prevent tearing ofthe fabric and to preserve the shape of the buttonhole. It is wellknown, however, that this row of stitching soon wears out or tears thefabric around the hole, especially at that part of the hole where comesthe greatest strain or wear. In many cases, and especially in the caseof small buttonholes in thin goods,

the stitching is entirely unable to preserve the shape of the buttonholewhen the buttonhole is under strain, and thus the button easily slipsout; and in starched articles such as shirts, collars, cuffs, &c.thebutton and stud holes quickly wear out beyond re- 0 pair in the processof laundering. Attempts have been made to overcome these defects byproviding the button and stud holes with shields; but these aregenerally cumbersome and require extra labor and additional fas- 3 5tening means to secure them in place and in many cases cause aninconvenient thickness, which makes these shields objectionable and inmany cases entirely unsuitable, as in shirts, collars, cuffs, &c. Inaccordance with this invention I greatly strengthen and preserve theshape of the buttonhole or stud-hole by very simple means that does notrequire extra labor or extra fastening means to secure it in place andneed not occasion any inconvenient thickness of the fabric in which thebuttonhole or studhole is made.

Referring now to the drawings, showing several embodiments of myinvention, formin I). place thereby is a thin flexible metallic ring ingpart of this specification, and in which 5o like letters of referencedesignate corresponding parts in both figures- Figure 1 is a plan view,partly broken away, showing one embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is asectional elevation on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

A is a piece of fabric in which is formed the buttonhole B, made inaccordance with my invention. This fabric may be made of one or morelayers of material, and, as shown in the drawings, especially in Fig. 2,it has three layers a, a and a The buttonhole B is cut in the usual way,and around its edge is run the ordinary row of buttonhole-stitch- Insideof this stitching and held in O, which may be made of a single strand ofwire the ends of which, after being twisted together, are formed intoseparate loops 0 c, and these loops are stitched to the fabric,preferably to the intermediate layer, if there be one, as in Fig. 2, soas to hold the ring in place while the buttonhole-stitching is beingmade. The presence of these loops or eyes is a great assistance inenabling the ready stitching of the buttonhole, and especially where thewire is placed between two or more layers of fabric. The strain on thebuttonhole, which has heretofore been almost, if not entirely, localizedat one end of the buttonhole, is by the employment of the metallic ringdistributed to all parts of the buttonhole. The buttonhole is thusenabled to last much longer and to withstand much greater strain withoutdamage to the fabric. Moreover, the 8 5 ring prevents thebuttonhole-stitching from tearing the fabric, and when the stitchingbecomes worn out it can be repaired before damage is done to the fabric.The ring need not increase the thickness of the fabric at the buttonholeor stud-hole even to the least appreciable degree nor interfere with theperfect laundering of the fabric. The ring should be made of or platedwith a non-corroding metal, especially for wash goods,and instead 5 ofbeing made of a single strand it may be made of several strands twistedtogether or otherwise built up. In order to prevent undue thickness atthe button or stud hole, the ring should be as thin and flat as possibleconsistent with durability, and it should be flexible.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A fabric provided with a buttonhole or studhole, provided with the usualstitching, reinforced by a metallic ring composed of wire or similarmaterial, the ends of said wire being

